Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness –Mark Twain

Monday, September 20, 2010

Day 2 Photos: And on to Berlín we go

Saturday, 9-11-2010

Joya de Cerén archaeological site near San Salvador.

Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1993,

Joya de Cerén offers a glimpse into the Mayan agricultural based village that once lived here.

Map of several archaeological sites in Central America and Mexico

A lava bomb found at Joya de Cerén

A house under layers of ash and rock.

Buried twice by volcanic eruptions,

it is one of the most important archaeological sites of the Americas.

A bowl found at the site

A vase found at the site

Mini jars

Inside the museum.

The large bowl in the middle is a large, clay cántaro (used to carry water)

Part of an adobe structure

Mayan plate

Mold of corn found at the site

Bones of a rat

Teeth that had been lost or pulled prior to the eruption.

No bodies have been found at this site leading researchers to believe

that everyone made it out alive.

Duck bones

Ta da!

Structures that have been excavated

You can see the several layers of ash and rock

This is a small house

A temezcal - sauna bath

A thorny tree nearby.

The trunk is supposedly of the underworld.

The branches are supposed to represent heaven.

A large guanacaste tree

Cacao pods - where chocolate comes from!

Lots of chocolate! Wish I could take some home

Our tour group.

The guide was fantastic!

Rio Sucio (Dirty River)

It used to run clean during the time of the Mayans,

but factories in the area now pollute the river

Joya de Cerén is one of El Salvador’s most popular and protected ancient sites because of its superb level of preservation which is said to be comparable only to that of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

One of the communal kitchens

In this picture you can see the lattice window

that was used to let in air and light

Beautiful flowers near the entrance

They look like wax

Replications of pottery and masks found at the site

that were for sale at the little market

A map of important archaeological sites found in El Salvador

3-D map of El Salvador.

The two black dots in the middle are approximately where Berlín is located.

The two yellow stripes at the left are where Joya de Cerén and San Andrés are located.

Walking through San Andrés archaeological park

Layout of San Andrés

This is an impressive group of ceremonial centers and pyramids that date back to the late Classic period where the important Mayan dignitaries would live.

These archaeological ruins were first discovered in the 19th century

but excavations did not start until the 1940’s.

Findings on this ancient site prove that San Andrés had business dealings with the Mayans in Copán (Honduras), Teotihuacán (Mexico) as well as with other Mayan villages in Belize and Guatemala; making it an important and influential Mayan center in the region.

Grand Plaza area

There are some ancient Mayans!

Kathy teaching Alisha something very important

A guard on top of the hill by the ruins

Two guys mowing the grass near the ruins with an actual lawnmover

(not the typical machete that would be used to cut grass).

This felt out of place, in El Salvador and at an archaeological site

An indigo workshop in the area

Now a mosquito breeding area (not really, but a definite possibility)

Checking out jewelry sold by a really cool guy

"No hecho en China" (Not made in China), he told me

Sipping my cebada drink at a Mr. Donut in San Salvador.

I originally thought it was made of fruit,

but now I'm pretty sure it's a barley drink

My chicken crepe at the Mr. Donut: Paris

We bought a dozen donuts for the ladies at the Casa Pastoral

and a dozen donuts for Alfredo and his family

Lynn and our awesome driver, Alfredo

Sign in the bathroom about what to do in case of an earthquake or fire

Lots of cars and pieces of cars in San Salvador

Yay! FMLN!!

Taking a nap on the way to Berlín

Crossing the Rio Lempa

A new mascota at the Pastoral House!

This cute little guy doesn't have a name yet

I love turtles!!

Putting the acetaminophen in bags for the gift packages for San Francisco

Idalia putting beans into one pound bags

I took this photo of Blanca telling her I needed a picture of her working hard